BREAKAWAY

Since taking a leave and now retired from Champlain, there have been three major projects that' I've been devoted to. The first has been painting and reflecting on life. The second as written about earlier, has been to raising puppies and all the joy that brings. The third is potentially the most far reaching and continues work created by my students, staff, and faculty of the Emergent Media Center (EMC) alongside our partners. BREAKAWAY is the game that addresses violence against women and girls built by the EMC with PMC and UNFPA.

South Africa newspaper 2007, article on Champlain team start of development—foundational research phase

I've given many talks on BREAKAWAY to include speaking at Game Developer's Conference, keynoting at Meaningful Play, and most recently presenting at both Serious Games in Montreal and Orlando and at the Connected Learning Summit at MIT. Likewise since the early days, I've written much about it, most recently with Dr. Helen Wang from the University of Buffalo who completed key research on the program's impact (see list below). Our most recent publication is in "Learning, education, and games, Volume 3: 100 Games to Use in the classroom and beyond".

This year two major efforts have been: 1). updating the Facilitator Guide for the mobile version, and 2). co-writing and co-editing a book with Helen on BREAKAWAY. The chapter authors are folks—alumni, development partners, facilitators, researchers, and those who have implemented the BREAKAWAY youth camps—who over the past 14 years have made a huge difference in its success. Reading through their perspectives has grown my insight on the unique strengths of the program.

Early game play testing. Winooski Middle School, Burlington, VT.

You might wonder why a program that goes back almost 15 years is so important to me. When I began the EMC, I had the profound belief in the power of young people to make a difference through connecting their passions to "real" world challenges. The EMC became a model for learning founded on that belief, enabling all participants, not just the students, to learn deeply and touch the world greatly. At the time, even my mentor and friend President Dave Finney did not think we could get a grant from the UN but with PMC as our partner we did in the first year of the EMC. But that is not the surprising part of the journey.

EMC students developing the 3D model for Hannah. This early prototype has remained Hanna through two game versions.

The real reason for my passion for BREAKAWAY is that the EMC students have proven over and over again my founding assumption in their ability to create change. It has repeatedly been the genius and motivation of individual and teams  of students working alongside dedicated partners, faculty, and staff that has brought such power to the game and its facilitated youth camps. They have inspired me!

Through them, we've connected to change makers in South Africa, India, St. Lucia, Italy, Palestine, and El Salvador. The students have done the heavy lifting—designing, building, implementing—they have carried the banner. My role has been to amplify their actions and relay the understanding and learning acquired by each generation of students and our partners onto the next so that they can reach further. That is how BREAKAWAY, once on online game developed in Flash, has now become a mobile game for Android with youth camps and trainings conducted in Palestine, El Salvador, Rwanda, and South Africa.

Former EMC students and El Salvador Facilitators

This year, I am once again working with PMC with hopes of training new students, this time in Guatemala with Lafábrica & jotebequ/GREY and the Universidad Rafael Landívar. I'm looking forward to teaching again, returning to Central America (which I have fallen in love with since El Salvador), and changing the dial on violence against women and girls (VAWG) worldwide.

Long term partner GrassRoot Soccer in South Africa provides education for girls in the townships.

Our partners in Sonsonate, El Salvador conducted an educational program in the schools after our initial trainings.

And side by side with this year's work, particularly completion of the mobile Facilitator Guide and game, has been the successful implementation by UNICEF in Rwanda. They came to us over a year ago as they had received funding to begin youth education on VAWG and other pertinent issues impacting youth in the Mahama Refugee Camp. They chose BREAKAWAY over other games because it most clearly aligned to their understanding and solution to the issues (VAWG and bullying), it had a proven track record, and because it had a developed educational curriculum. Using gift funds, the EMC translated the game into the native language of Kinyarwanda. Recently the team at UNICEF released this video. It brings such joy!

Juliet, 16, is one of the Burundian children participating in UNICEF's innovative tablet-based learning activities. 
"We used to only play football alone, as girls. We did not know that boys and girls can play together. But these games on the tablets have taught us that there are no differences between boys and girls, and now we play football together as one."
With support from the Republic of Korea, UNICEF and partners provide tablet-based learning sessions for Burundian refugee children living in Mahama Camp.
Each week, around 500 children participate in these sessions, where they learn concepts like gender equality, inclusion and anti-bullying through innovative 'gamification' of educational apps. After each tablet session, facilitators and children discuss what they have learned and how to improve the sessions.
#ENDviolenceWith support from the Republic of Korea, UNICEF and partners provide tablet-based learning sessions for Burundian refugee children living in Mahama Camp.

Articles on BREAKAWAY:

1. Wang, H., Choi, J. H., Wu., Y., & DeMarle, A. (2018). BREAKAWAY: Combating violence against women and girls through soccer video game and youth camps. Health & New Media Research, 2(4). Available at http://healthmedia.hallym.ac.kr/     
2. Wang, H., Wu, Y., Choi, J. H., & DeMarle, A. (2019). Players as transitional characters: How youth can “BREAKAWAY” from gender-based violence. Well Played, 8, 27-40. Available at http://press.etc.cmu.edu/index.php/product/well-played-vol-8-no-1/     
3. Wang, H., Choi, J. H., Wu, Y. C., & DeMarle, A. (in press). BREAKAWAY: A narrative-based digital game to educate youth about gender-based discrimination and violence. In K. Schrier (Ed.), Learning, education, and games (Volume 3): 100 Games to Use in the classroom and beyond. ETC Press. Available at: http://press.etc.cmu.edu/index.php/product/learning-education-games-volume-3/